If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties - someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad; if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."
- John F. Kennedy

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Frogmarch Time

What definition is the Whitehouse using for traitor? Can anyone at the Whitehouse justify why an obvious and admitted traitor that has done clear and significant damage to our national security in a time of war still has a security clearance and therefore access to classified material?

David Shuster at MSNBC is reporting that Valerie Plame Wilson was heacily involved in trying to assess the Iranian nuclear capabilty at the time she was outed (Crooks & Liars has the video).

According to Shuster:

Early in the case, Rove admitted to investigators that he outed Valerie Wilson’s identity to columnist Robert Novak — Novak was the first journalist to publish Wilson’s identity and the first to talk about it to investigators.

And last week, Karl Rove testified again he may have spoken about the Wilsons with Time Magazine’s Matt Cooper.

Rove said he denied that under oath for the first year of the investigation because of memory problems. A case of bad memory is Scooter Libby’s defense.

But in regards to Karl Rove, lawyers in the case say prosecutor Fitzgerald is still troubled by the timing of Rove’s rolling disclosures: it seems that Rove’s memory perks up with every new indication someone else will expose him. When Rove finally began to update his testimony in October 2004, it was just days after Cooper was first held in contempt for refusing to disclose confidential sources. And Rove did not give Cooper a clear waiver to testify until after Cooper’s appeals had been exhausted 9 months later.

MSNBC has learned new information about the damage caused by the White House leaks.

Intelligence sources say Valerie Wilson was part of an operation three years ago tracking the proliferation of nuclear weapons material into Iran. And the sources allege that when Mrs. Wilson’s cover was blown,the administration’s ability to track Iran’s nuclear ambitions was damaged as well.

If you remember Raw Story also reported this in February 2006. It would seem to me that the evidence is overwhelming against Rove. From my days in the business if there was a compromise of classified material suspected then all access to classified material was denied until the investigation was completed. Why doesn't Karl have to follow these rules?